DON’T FORGET to watch our first YouTube video at the end of this blog.

Good morning to our readers!

As we stated on our very first blog post, we wanted to reserve this space to document everything. We wanted to document our successes and our failures. Well, here we are, ready to share with you again. Today, we want to share our hope for this blog and our new YouTube channel.

Why are we blogging?

The road to success only seems dark if it’s clouded by your fears.

We want to document our journey on this blog because we feel very fortunate to have been able to take the steps we did towards our dream and we wish to share and inspire others to do the same. Just eight months ago, California was our home. Our hopes and dreams for our future were uncertain. We never thought we’d be where we are today. Surely, you have heard of the term wage slave before. As blessed as we were to have a promising career that could lead our family to a fairly stable future, it didn’t feel right. The hours and energy spent on the clock weren’t fulfilling. We had a desire for more (or some would say, less). We wanted a fulfilling life of growing our own food and living closer to God’s beautiful world.

Cocoa bird

Have you ever studied the behavior of chickens? When a momma hen goes broody, (broody is a term used to describe a hen that wants to incubate her eggs) she spends the majority of her days meticulously rearranging her nest and rotating her eggs to ensure that each egg is equally warmed on all sides. She may even pluck feathers off of her body so she can use her warm skin to warm the eggs. Aside from leaving the nest for a little sustenance a few times a day, she will sit on her eggs all day and all night. After they’ve hatched, she will raise and teach them the ways of the chicken and protect them.

Broody momma hen warming her three chicks (Yes, there are three hiding in her feathers!)

Often, you’ll notice a discoloring in her comb and waddle due to her lack of nutrients. During feeding time, she will use her beak to sweep away food from a feeder so her chicks can have them. She’ll even pick up a treat that she loves, only to drop it for her babies to eat. She will also protect these chicks from the rest of the flock’s pecking order. This momma hen will continue her motherly ways until she is not needed anymore. Soon, the chicks will hit what we call their “teenage” weeks and pull away from momma hen, which in turn lets momma hen know that her time with them has come. How beautiful is that?

Now, imagine a little chick that’s been hatched in a mechanical incubator and raised without a mother. One day, when she goes broody, chicks are carefully slipped under her to trick her into taking them in as her own. Will she then know how to teach her babies how to eat, drink, and stay safe? If she had no experience being raised by her momma, will she be able to successfully raise these chicks on her own? The answer? Yes, it happens all the time! We witnessed just that after we slipped three chicks under our broody hen. Watching our broody momma love and nurture the babies was truly magical.

We are where we are today because we witnessed something so beautiful in our chickens that left us in awe. We wanted more. We wanted to be able to raise our daughter around more nature and go forward to the days of farming. A self-sustaining life was our ideal.

So many people ask us, “Why Minnesota?” To tell you the truth, we prayed and God led. There is no better way to answer that question than that. Specifically, we prayed for God to place us where we could bless others; a place where we could serve. God was faithful.

To sum it up, we gave up our comfortable life in California to take a leap of faith. Fear of the unknown and worry about the lack of financial security kept us caged, but we chose to fight it because we knew that our cup could be filled. And so, that is why we decided to call this blog “Filled Cup”. A filled cup is not a goal to us, but a mindset. Though we may not always feel like our cup is filled, we always remember that ultimately, our cup has already been filled and will stay full as long as we have a heart of contentment. By staying humble and grateful for the little things, we won’t have a need for more.

Are you feeling pulled to do something more with your life? Do you desire more? Ask yourself, what is stopping you? Now, it may not be a move to another state or a move altogether. Maybe you’ve been putting off going back to school, applying for that new job, quitting your job to stay home with the kids, starting that small business, ending that toxic relationship, courting that cute girl, starting a garden, putting the house on the market, or starting a blog. Whatever it may be, we hope you don’t let fear stop you from taking steps forward and that you fill your cup.

Thank you for stopping by!

Tomorrow, we will begin we will begin part one of our homestead/market gardening series. Then, stay tuned for some homeschool freebies and a post from “Anxious Anna”. You also don’t want to miss a little entertaining video from our littlest contributor (our 6-year-old) coming soon.

Please, subscribe to our blog below to be one fo the first to know when we’ve updated our content.

May your day be filled with things that nurture your soul and fill your cup.

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This is it. You’ve begun taking steps towards your goals and you have gotten an outpour of support from people everywhere. It feels so good to get confirmation that you are headed in the right direction. But what happens in the silence? What happens when the only noise is the silent thoughts in your head telling you this dream of yours is not worth it? You push through. Here are a few little encouraging tips to get you through this week’s grind. When we forget to do these things, I feel like we experience burnout and giving up becomes more of a reality.

Even the great inventor Nicola Tesla never received the recognition he deserved in his lifetime but his inventions affect every aspect of our lives today.

Don’t expect quick results.

Did you know that the highly successful dancing violinist, Lindsey Stirling was repeatedly discouraged and told that she wasn’t a great violinist? Judges warned her that she needed to stop doing what she has since become iconic for; dancing while playing the violin. Even the great inventor Nicola Tesla never received the recognition he deserved in his lifetime but his inventions affect every aspect of our lives today. Whether you are working towards your college degree or wanting to make a big difference in this world, do not expect quick results. Don’t let the silence and discouragement of today ultimately push you to give up. Give it some time. I believe in you.

Celebrate small successes.

You may not have yielded a full garden but celebrate that you’ve begun planting. Celebrate that how to follow your dream is no longer the fear the keeps you up at night but instead, it is what the next step is. Celebrate that you are no longer a slave to what others think of you. Celebrate that you turned in the application. Celebrate that you now wake up at 8 instead of 9. Celebrate that even though your followers are small, they are engaged. Celebrate small successes and be proud of yourself. You are following your dreams and you should be proud of yourself.

Comparing yourself to what others have achieved puts you on the path of self-destruction.

Let go.

It’s time to let go. Do you have that one habit that keeps you crippled? Maybe it’s reading sappy love stories that keep you dissatisfied with your own loving relationship or staying up too late and not getting enough sleep? One of the biggest things that I have to let go of is comparing. Comparing yourself to what others have achieved puts you on the path of self-destruction. Let go. You are uniquely you for a reason.

Do you have that one person that discourages you or makes you doubt your decision? Let them go. Letting go doesn’t always mean erasing them from your lives immediately. Sometimes, it means distancing yourself and slowly pulling away. I can not emphasize more the importance of letting go of toxic people. Those who dwell in negativity will only invite more negativity into their lives. Let go and move on to a more positive, promising future. You deserve it.

Don’t feel entitled.

Entitlement is a dangerous mindset. Believing that anyone owes us anything just because we exist is dead wrong. We have to work hard to get where we want. Too many times, I see people give up on or never even pursue their dreams because their dreams weren’t served to them. We need to change that mindset. No one has to purchase our products or services or read our posts or watch our videos or even listen to us because they do not owe us anything. If we pursue our dreams with entitlement in our hearts, burnout will happen and we will be in danger of putting our dreams on a very high and very dark shelf to be forgotten.

Take some time to appreciate.

I can think of so many things to be thankful for but sometimes, it’s easier to think about what isn’t going right. It’s good to take some time to thank those loved ones that have supported us through our journey and show our appreciation for them. It’s just as good to take some time to appreciate all of the amenities available to us that make it possible for us to reach for our dreams. With a grateful heart comes appreciation.

Unplug. Reflect.

One of the things that have caused me to experience burnout is failing to unplug and reflect from time to time. Following our dreams can get so exciting; especially when we begin to see results but it should never be at the cost of our own health and sanity. I’m a firm believer that staying plugged into our electronics does not serve our mental health. Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful for how far we’ve come in technology and personally love using it to keep in touch with our friends and family. The resources I can find on the internet is also extraordinary but it can become overwhelming. How can we appreciate the beauty around us if we don’t have the time to look at and enjoy it? Just as important is taking the time to reflect. It’s so easy to become so consumed with what’s getting positive feedback that we can easily forget our own passions. At times, what we’ve pursued won’t always bring us the joy we thought it would. In those moments, we can reflect and reroute our plans to better fit our own purpose. This isn’t called failure, this is being in touch with yourself. We can’t find true joy if we are not being true to our dreams.

Where ever you are in your journey, I hope you feel encouraged today and know that whatever obstacles come your way, you can overcome them.

With so much love, Ann.

Do you have a prayer request? We would love to pray for you! CLICK HERE to link to our prayer request form.

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When I began blogging, it wasn’t the first time the idea of blogging came to mind. For years, I had a desire in my heart to connect with others by blogging but every time I began typing content, anxiety tightened its grip on me.

Can you relate to this? Hi, I’m Ann and I am here to tell you that you are not alone. Ever since I could remember, I have suffered from anxiety but it wasn’t until I became an adult and after my divorce that I realized it. Yuck. Divorce. That’s a whole other topic that used to bring me so much anxiety. (For the sake of protecting my ex’s and my privacy and dignity, I will not delve into the details but divorce is ugly. Plain and simple. If you’re a follower of Jesus like me, it can get even uglier in our heads. I can hear the whispers now, “Oh, blasphemous one! I shan’t read this post!” And that was just my head speaking!) But hey, sometimes, it has to get real ugly before God can create the most beautiful life out of us. Most of all, we are fortunate enough (that’s an understatement) to have a forgiving God who forgives and loves us fiercely.

Before we started Filled Cup, I knew I wanted to tackle anxiety. If not to help others, mostly to help me. I have a crazy in my head. Yep, I said it. I have a crazy in my head that’s goal is to tear me apart so badly that I can’t continue forward. It fights with me when I have inspirational ideas. It fights with me when I’m looking into my daughter’s big and beautiful brown eyes. It tears me apart when I’m in my husband’s arms and feeling safe. There’s a monster that eats at me when it’s late at night and no one is awake and tells me, “Remember everything you did wrong today.” It whispers, “Why did you just say that?” when I’m socializing with people or “You’re a selfish mother,” when I take time for myself. When my husband tells me I’m enough, anxiety says, “He’s just saying that to shut you up.” When God says I am forgiven, anxiety yells, “Your past is never erased.” Anxiety is ugly.

When productivity is at its peak, anxiety waits for me

When productivity is at its peak, anxiety waits for me; ready to tear me down. Anxiety makes me afraid to fall asleep at night and afraid to wake up to reality. Anxiety doesn’t want me to type this out right now because it doesn’t feel safe when it’s exposed.

Anxiety gets ugly but not as ugly as a life without forgiveness and unconditional love. In moments of anxiety is when I realize I can’t do it all myself. In this segment of Filled Cup, I am going to tackle anxiety and hopefully connect with many others who suffer from it. Join me every Wednesday as I tackle an aspect of anxiety.

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What is Permaculture?

All living things form relationships with other lifeforms. Even our bodies are filled with microorganisms that help to break down our foods into more simple carbohydrates, amino acids, and vitamins. We feed them, and they feed us. Nature does the same thing on a grand scale. Trees and other plants hold the soil against erosion as the soil feeds them. Their leaves become compost to feed the earthworms and other animals that break it down and make the nutrients available to the plants again.

Permaculture is the study of relationships in nature, and how we can recreate these kinds of relationships on the farm or in the garden. It is the practice of using different plants and animals to mutually benefit one another while increasing productivity and reducing the amount of work we must do to get it. Grazing animals can be used to clear land, hogs can turn the soil, chickens can consume slaughter waste, and manure can be composted to feed the garden patch. The imaginary spider web of potential relationships on a farm can be incredibly complex but allows ease of choice to decide what works for you in your context. Permaculture can be as simple as having one goose with your flock of chickens to scare away small pests and predators, or as complex as a multi-species grazing rotation.

Permaculture can be a way of life. For us, it is a tool of convenience. Using ducks to clear out slugs and snails while keeping the garden free of pesticides, using chickens to till the top layer of soil and clear crop residue, while adding nitrogen, having guinea hens clear the ticks and make the chickens aware of overhead killers, and having a good dog chase off predators, are all examples of permaculture in a way that small farmers and homesteaders like us can use to make our lives better and more productive.

Thank you for reading, and please stay tuned for my next topic: Building and Maintaining Healthy Soil.

May your days be filled with things that nurture your soul and fill your cup.
Sincerely,
Mat & Ann

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In today’s episode of Create and Play Minecraft with Me, Fair Katrenelje will teach you the basics of Minecraft. Watch her make her way through her first day in survival mode. Afterward, watch her be a chicken whisperer and feed her adorable goats.

Going by her screen name: Fair Katrenelje, she is a 6-year-old girl who lives on a farm, loves to read, learn, and play Minecraft! In this segment, you will get to either make a craft or snack with her as well as enjoy some Minecraft time. You’ll also get to meet her awesome farm animals!

Filled Cup’s goal in creating this channel is to provide a safe space for children to watch and learn with another child just like them. The internet can be a dangerous place for children. We hope to be a positive light to young viewers.

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It’s 2:00 am. You have dedicated your heart and soul into this post. Sleep is out of the question because you are feeling inspired by the content you are talking about. After you’ve completed your masterpiece, you go to sleep feeling nervous but excited and determined all at the same time about your upcoming post going live.

Morning hits and you turn on your computer, access your blog, and POST. You are feeling pretty good about it. You’re also feeling nervous, but overall good. It’s day three since the post has been live and no one has noticed it. The purpose you felt so strongly about is now, slowly but surely, slipping away.

I want to share with you two of my fears as a new blogger and ways to overcome them. Now, I am no expert, but I hope you’ll come out of this realizing you are not alone in those feelings.

Fear No. 1 – No one cares about my content.

Reality: Many have not seen it yet! It is so true. If you are a new blogger, I’m sure you’re familiar with SEO. You can’t exactly study SEO in one day and rank the next. It takes time and so much patience to pop up into search engines. Don’t feel that your content is not worth writing about. There is always someone interested in what you have got to say, you just haven’t found them yet.

Possible solutions: Join blogger support groups in forums or Facebook to help get your content out there. Advertise on social media and utilize hashtags. Engage in other blogger’s posts to bring some attention to yourself as well as create possible supportive friendships.

Fear No. 2 – My friends are not supportive.

Reality: Just because you go off on this venture and announce it to your friends, it does not mean they will be your biggest fans. There could be so many reasons for this but here are just four possible reasons:

Quite frankly, they might not be interested in the content you are putting out. Don’t be offended. Everyone has different taste and you might even find that if they begin blogging one day, you feel the same way about their work.

They are busy! I don’t know about you, but being a mom, a lot of my friends are also mothers with lives full of little ones. Just because you are consumed with blogging, that doesn’t mean they are consumed with reading your blog.

They don’t know how to support you. This is very true for so many. Many times, friends and family don’t know how to support you. Simple solution for this? Talk to them! Ask them to share, or engage in your posts. Maybe you need encouraging text messages now and then or a pep talk once a week. Be sincere and clear that you want their support and how.

They probably don’t even realize you’ve put content out! Yes, this happens! In this busy world, there is so much content already being thrown at your friends and family. Don’t let yours get lost in the mix by contacting them when you have new content up. By doing this, you also show your friends and family that their input and support means a lot to you.

Look, in a world of flying pigs and unicorns, everyone would support everyone and know just the right way to do it. This is not that world. Don’t feel entitled to support from your friends and family and cause that to create a bitterness in your heart! If you really want their support, reach out to them. A blogger friend of mine suggested that when I was feeling discouraged and she couldn’t have been more correct. (Thank you!)

When my mind is feeling clouded by all of my doubts, I try and remind myself why I am doing this. In everything we do, I believe it’s important to lay out your reasons for doing them. That is why I created a simple PDF printable just for you. Use this printable to lay down the reasons you are doing what you are doing. Once you’ve completed it, put it somewhere visible. When you start having doubts again, read it out loud to yourself!

Lastly, I cannot emphasize this enough, but don’t forget to take time away from the computer to get some fresh air, love on your loved ones, and fill your cup. There’s no other therapy like getting hugs from my daughter and encouragement from my husband.

With so much love, Ann.

Do you have a prayer request? We would love to pray for you! CLICK HERE to link to our prayer request form.

Now, I want to share an inspirational video that helped me get out of bed last week. I hope it can pour some inspiration into your life.Dream – Motivational Video

What are some of your struggles today? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

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Us humans have some very basic needs that we must tend to every day. We have to take care of our bodies, or our bodies will punish us with extreme and unrelenting pain. Air, water, food, rest, and exercise are the most basic of our needs. We are blessed to have lives in which most of us have easy access to these necessities at all times. Our society has developed to a point where a handful of farmers produce all of the foods for the rest of us. Farming technology has made mass production a way of life.

Farming technology has made mass production a way of life.

For all of our collective success, there have been casualties. Fruits and vegetables grown on large scale farms are selected from varieties that hold up well during transport instead of flavorful or healthy varieties. They are sprayed with synthetic herbicides, pesticides, fungicides and fertilizers that may be even worse for our bodies than they are for the environment. Animals raised for meat, eggs, milk or other products are bred, fed, housed and slaughtered in horrendous conditions where they only survive because of the antibiotic injections which eventually lead to more powerful and resilient pathogens. Many organic alternatives at the store are still questionable and priced above what many of us can comfortably afford. How can we source healthful, flavorful, humane, and affordable foods?

Our answer is to produce as much of our own foods as possible. An organic vegetable garden fertilized with compost and manure produces vegetables with more nutrients from flavorful varieties that you harvest when they are mature, and last longer in the refrigerator without poisoning yourself and your family with chemicals. A small flock of hens can provide better eggs and entertainment at very little cost. Goats can easily provide your family with clean, fresh milk, yogurt, cheese and other dairy products for a small investment. If you find it to be more sensible to have your own source of meat for low cost than it is to pay and close a blind eye to the moral implications of industrial meat, rabbits are an easy way to satisfy your meat tooth.

This is providing your family with the best. This is life the way we were built to live it, and it’s all possible at any scale to fit your space and time constraints. If you are tired of filling your spare time with meaningless games and hobbies, tired of filling your body with empty calories that don’t give you satisfaction, and tired of feeling so detached from the earth, it is time to make a change. It is time to take control of your health. This is homesteading.

This is providing your family with the best.

Thank you for reading Part Two of our Profitable Garden Series. If you missed Part One, CLICK HERE.

May your days be filled with things that nurture your soul and fill your cup.
Sincerely,
Mat & Ann

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A Little Monday Lift

Called To Blog

Last week, did you feel unsure about your future? At any point, did you talk badly about yourself and your recent decisions? Guess what? You’re not alone. Often, we hear voices in our head telling us our dreams are worthless. The voice says, “Give up, right now. Don’t waste more of your time. Just turn around and never look back.”

When my husband and I started this journey of leaving the city and moving forward to a small-town farm life, it was scary. There we were; your typical family of three in a little suburban town. My husband worked with the union when there was work and we got by fairly well.

I knew my husband had desires in his heart to do more with the earth in a fulfilling way. He desired a farm, farm animals, more time with his family, and more time to work with his hands. For a long time, it kept me up at night. I wanted to make his dream come true. He filled our family’s life with so much joy and so much selflessness. I wanted to make his dream become a reality. Sure, we could have waited until he retired, but we are not guaranteed tomorrow. We are barely even guaranteed today. We wanted to take action now.

Sure, we could have waited until he retired, but we are not guaranteed tomorrow. We are barely even guaranteed today.

I began researching ways that we could make those dreams come true. I researched home based jobs, online jobs, and pyramid scheme company jobs. I even tried options like selling sewn crafts and homemade Lumpia and selling on Etsy, but it wasn’t enough to get us by and just did not feel quite right.

That was when it happened: I felt called to blog. To most, it seems like a crazy idea to give up a fairly stable life to join the rest of the community of bloggers with different ideas.

What was my thought process for a year and a half after I felt that call? There are a lot of bloggers, why will someone want to read what I write? My friends and family will think I’m crazy and desperate for attention. It’s a risky idea and very likely won’t bring in any revenue. Worst of all, no one will read it and I’ll give up everything for nothing.

Then, I came to a realization. All of my favorite bloggers are people too. They are humans who had a thought or idea, then typed it up for the world to read. These successful bloggers that I have put on a pedestal are just like me and my husband; real people. If they can do it, why can’t we?

These successful bloggers that I have put on a pedestal are just like me and my husband; real people.

Just because we started blogging, does that mean we are immediately bringing in revenue? No. It takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of social marketing, creativity, and time invested. Will we regret our decision later? No, because we thought and unyieldingly prayed over our dream and we’ve accepted that if blogging does not pan out, maybe its purpose was to pull us away from our previous, less fulfilling life. Most of all, we asked God for direction, he showed the way, and we trusted and followed, so everything else is history.

My point in sharing this is to encourage the dreamer, or maybe even blogger in you to go for it. If you have felt a pull and calling to do something different with your life, but comfort and fear are keeping you grounded, know that your situation will not change if you don’t start moving. The first step is sometimes the most difficult. Take that first step and gain some momentum, and then watch yourself go!

If you’ve already begun pursuing your dreams and are in the thick of it, I hope I can help reaffirm that you are going in the right direction. Have you found that maybe the dream you’re pursuing isn’t what you want after all? Use this experience as a special moment in life that led you closer to your purpose. Time invested in fulfilling dream is never time wasted.

Thank you for reading and I hope you’ll come back next week for another dose of A Little Monday Lift. Do you have a prayer request? CLICK HERE to be directed to our prayer request form.

May your days be filled with things that nurture your soul and fill your cup.

With so much love, Ann.

This week’s uplifting song is:

Disclaimer: I do not feel that selling sewn crafts, food items, and pyramid scheme companies are impossible jobs to make a living out of, nor do I believe that you can’t live a fulfilling life doing them. Hindsight, it was just not my calling. If you are being pulled to do any of those, I hope you listen to the calling and go for it. Take that first step.

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What is Market Gardening?

Picture this…

William and Margaret Gardener are planning to expand their garden this year. After two successful seasons, they’ve learned how to get more out of their tomatoes and cucumber plants. Margaret wants to invest in some gardening infrastructure, but William thinks it’s going to be too expensive. After doing some research, they decide that by growing extra this year, they can sell some of their crops to cover the cost of their investment. Sure, they shared their surplus with neighbors and family but never before had they pictured themselves selling at a farmer’s market.

Growing extra and selling at the Farmers’ Market allows Margaret to have her big garden and William to have money in his pocket.

By expanding their garden to include all of their favorite vegetables and investing in season extending infrastructure, the Gardeners are able to break their dependence on the grocery store, remove chemicals from their diet, and improve their quality of life. Growing extra and selling at the Farmers’ Market allows Margaret to have her big garden and William to have money in his pocket. Now, William and Margaret are Market Gardeners.

Whether you are on 20 acres, one acre, or have a backyard in a suburban community, you can become a Market Gardener and we want to show you how. This is a seven part series that will explore Market Gardening, Homesteading, and how to make the two work hand in hand.

We hope you enjoyed part one of our Profitable Gardening series and come back next Tuesday for Part Two where we will discuss an Intro to Homesteading.
Also, if you like what you’ve read, please Subscribe below!

May your days be filled with things that nurture your soul and fill your cup.
Sincerely,
Mat & Ann